As I have mentioned before, I have a penchant for buying whole fish. Since buying a whole salmon is out of the question, I prefer cooking its head. Salmon steaks are expensive, and not as fatty and succulent as the meat from the collar and cheeks. Besides, at $1.99/lb, how can I resist a very … Continue reading →

Say hello to my 90-minute or less Turbo Oven Roasted Roast Duck! This easy to prepare feast of a bird was our 2012 Christmas Eve Dinner. I can’t say it was inspired by anything except that I bought two separate things on a whim: a can of La Chinata Smoked Paprika Powder, and a headless … Continue reading →

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: 600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 5 years to get … Continue reading →

After deciding on the Taiwan layover, the decision to get a Taipei City hotel was easy - yet difficult. I never had the experience of staying in a hostel, and quite frankly I only hear about it from travel sites and the Globe Trekker (originally broadcast as Lonely Planet) series back in the 90's. Yay Ian Wright! Personal Tidbit: I was a short lived tra […]

I finally paid Manila a visit after 10 years of living in New York City. Last summer, I went on a smorgasbord trip to Italy, Israel and France (and havent blogged most of it yet - soon, I will do it!)I ended up in Taiwan because some flights to Manila involved 20 hour layovers. The choices were Japan and Taiwan. I picked Taiwan because I have never been ther […]

Arresting to the senses. Words cannot explain how much fun the Travel + Leisure Global Bazaar 2012 Kickoff Party was. The drinks were overflowing, the booths were entertaining and the decor was very well done. Kudos to every one who made this event possible! It literally was like going into the pages of Travel + Leisure magazine. It.was.this.much.FUUUUUN!Bel […]

One of Italy’s most known architectural structures is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is a freestanding bell tower that tilted to one side because the foundation on ground on one side was too soft to support its own weight.This campanile is part of the Piazza dei Miracoli otherwise known as Piazza del Duomo where there are four great religious structures – the […]